The Predator Hunter
by ParadoxVictor
Summary: "I know she deserves no less, so I'm gonna do the best to fulfill the promise I made on the day of her funeral. I'm gonna hunt down every rapist, child abuser, and sexual predator. So that no one has to suffer like she did, I'm gonna kill or castrate every single one of them, or I'm gonna die trying." AU of Makokam's Precocious Crush. Starts before ch 141. OC POV and Mindy POV.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _So yeah, I'm a big fan of Makokam and his fic _Precocious Crush, _and I was planning on doing this fic based on the original _Kick-Ass _comics and movie, but once I reached a specific chapter of Mako's story, I realised that my OC's insert would be much better fit for his PC-verse because of reasons that are spoilers. And yes, I did ask for the authorization to use his OC's and he gave me a green light.__ So go read his fic first, even if it's for the sake of understanding this one.  
_

_It's insanely awesome, so there is no way you're going to regret. So check it out first_

_Now about my OC. To start his name is Jason Lunovich, a 14 year old kid that goes out at night as The Grey Hound. You must have noticed by the summary that Jason has a deep ingrained hatred for rapists, child abusers and sexual predators. This mostly due thae fact that when he was 9 years old, his childhood friend took her own life because of the abuse she suffured from her step-father. His hate is so great, that he becomes a bit psycho-sadistic when dealing with them._

_You will alsonotice that he has a deep love for archery. This is due the fact that he was practically raised on Green Arrow and Hawkeye comics, so he trained he devoloped a big interest on them. That led to him trying to master the art of archery and eventually using it for crime fighting._

_That said, let's head to the story, shall we?_

_Also_**_: DON'T. FORGET. TO.__ REVIEW. _**_I need __them to improve my story an__d my writing, so please__,_**_ PLEASE! _**_don't __forget to review._**_  
_**

* * *

To be honest I'm surprised my parents actually let me move in with my brother in New York even after the fiasco at my old school. Except that maybe it does make sense. They're probably trying to get me away from them, to not ruin the integrity of our family for being a "delinquent". It's also probably because no other private school in the region wanted to take me in, fearing I'll ruin _their_ image too.

No school wants a kid that beats up two seniors because of the results of an archery competition. That _I_ won, and _they_ tried rough me up because of that. So I defend myself and _I_ get expelled while _they_ get a scot-free? Yeah, nice work guys, what an efficient punishment system. Sure, I broke their fingers and the arm of one of them, but they also gave me a black eye and a broken nose.

Good job for a pair of pansies, I'll give 'em that.

So I was expelled and no school in the region was willing to take me in, so despite being at clear disadvantage, I tried to convince my parents to let me move to New York with my brother, using the excuse of being something to help me mature out of my delinquent ways since it'll teach me independence and shit like that, and enroll at a school there.

To my surprise, as I said earlier, they accepted my proposal. But that wouldn't happen without punishment. And that punishment was that I had to attend public school.

This was hardly a punishment, really. Differently from my old peers I'm not some stuck up brat that thinks he's better than the people that can't afford private education. I really only went to my old school because my parents wanted me to. Secretly I was hoping that they'd set up this condition in the first place.

But I guess that they really don't want to deal with me considering that my classes only restart on January and they're sending me away when there is ten days left for Christmas, so I guess that they could enjoy the jolliest time of the year without their troublesome sons.

I walked out of the baggage retrieval and spot a dirty blonde head sticking out of the crowd, the body attached to it waving at me. I smiled and strode to where my brother was waiting to pick me up. Despite him being twenty four, ten years older than me, we are pretty tight. Thanks to our workaholic parents, it was Thomas that took care of me when I was a little kid.

He's the guy I can count on for most things, and the guy that tell most of the things that are happening or that I'm planning. I trust him so much that he's the only one who I told the real reason for me coming here to NYC.

"Jason!" he greeted as he gave me a hug and ruffled my brown hair. We might be brothers, but he takes after our mom, while I look a lot like dad "How you doing, man?"

"I got a black eye, but my nose is already back in its place. But I guess that's just a warm up for what's to come, right?" I joked around with him on the way to the parking lot, but his face turned serious all of a sudden

"You're really going to do this crime fighting thing, aren't you?" he asked gravely

"I am" I replied in an equally serious tone "and you promised to help me. Or are you going to back away now? Because no matter what you do or, there is no way you're gonna make me give up now" We had already arrived at his car, and I was waiting for him to open up the trunk.

We stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity and then he asked me "Are you sure about doing this, man? There has been a lot of stuff happening in the super-hero universe, and a lot of stuff has happened already. There is super-villain gang in town led by The Motherfucker; there was the Times Square Brawl, The Halloween Riots, then the raid that Justice Forever did on his hideout. Then there was the super-hero hunt that happened after that."

"Justice Forever is now the only active super-heroes in the city, with the exception of the Guardian and Biker Knight. The rest either retired, were killed, or were killed in retirement"

"Then this is even more reason for me to start now! This city needs more heroes!" I clenched my fists and almost yelled at him "And this is the only chance I have to at least try and fulfill my promise to _her_."

"So this is all about _her_, huh? Come on, man, I'm sure Jenny wouldn't mind tha-" he started, but I interrupted him

"I _know_ she wouldn't mind it. She was too nice. She would say that she doesn't deserve that I go through this this much just because of her. But I know better. I know she deserves no less, so I'm gonna do the best to fulfill the promise I made on the day of her funeral. I'm gonna hunt down every rapist, child abuser, and sexual predator. So that no one has to suffer like she did, I'm gonna kill or castrate every single one of them, or I'm gonna die trying."

I stopped to catch my breath and stay silent for about a minute. Eventually I continued.

"Now you either help me, as you promised, or you at least stay out of the way while I do this by myself" Even though that would be exponentially harder, I'd still do it.

But it seems that my worries were needless. After finishing the passionate speech that he practically induced me to do, he simply smirked and gave me a pat on the head, despite not being that much taller than me

"Well, then you better put your bags on the back seat" he continued smirking as he opened the car's trunk "Because I am way ahead of you, lil' bro"

One look inside and I knew I had the best brother in the world.

There laid a brand new titanium compound bow. I picked that baby up and it was beautiful, with its urban camouflage paintjob, and light, weighting 4 pounds max. And it was short too, about 32 inches from axle to axle, ideal for urban combat because of its compact size. It's multi distance 2x scope would come in handy a lot too.

I gave that beautiful fucker a pull and it easily packed about 60 pounds of draw weight at maximum potency, which is more than enough to run a human through. At the medium potency, it packed about 45 pounds, and at the smallest potency possible, it packed about 37 pounds, which is still enough to pierce an arrow at least 5 inches into someone's body.

After testing out all these pulls, I put the bow back into its case and tuned my attention to what was beside it. Arrows. A big quiver of them and beside that a lot of raw material for custom arrow production.

Two high quality hunting knives sat one beside the other. I took both of them in hands and tested their blades on a piece of cloth in my brother's trunk. They were perfect.

Beside that lay a simple tool box, a blunt rusty knife, and a lot of rope, things that would sure come in handy for some "special visits" I'll eventually make.

And last, but definitely not least, there was a shit-ton of Kevlar: A vest, a waist guard with important cup protection, shoulder guards, forearm guards, leg guards, and even gloves. Everything I will need to wear under my to-be-made uniform

"I'm glad you didn't back out now" he chuckled as I continued to look at my new stuff with awe "You wouldn't _believe_ how hard it was to get my hands on all these things. Well, not _all_ these things, it was mostly the Kevlar, but it was still hard, even with all my contacts"

When he says it like this it makes you think that he must live some kind of dangerous live with some dangerous job, but really, he's just a big nerd. A _huge_ nerd. A super _motherfucking_ talented nerd.

He finished college early and became one of the big independent programmers of today. Naturally he didn't settle for that and decided to have some fun and became one of today's most notorious hackers, ParadoxGenerator. The only entities with more access to information on the net than him are the NSA and possibly the CIA.

Or at least that's what he tells me. I think that's mostly just baseless bragging, and since I'm the only one who knows his true identity, he brags to me a lot.

Not to say that he isn't talented. It's quite the contrary. He can delete and replace any personal data about you from any part of you past: old jobs, crime records, birth date, who you're related to, your name, _anything._ Or so he claims. He hasn't actually done anything like this before, except clearing up some computer use records from one of his hacker friends to save his skin, but still tells me that he is able to do much more, but I digress.

I'm still speechless as he shoved my bags into the back seat of his car and then came over to give me a hug "Merry early Christmas, Jace"

Recovering from my stunned state I simply smiled and hugged back "Thanks Tom. I don't know what I would've done without you

"Yeah, I know" he responded smugly as he broke apart the hug and ran over to the driver's seat "Now come on, I need to show you the majestic palace that will be your new home"

I simply rolled my eyes and went to ride shotgun and left the parking lot. I will always remember this as the beginning of everything.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the late update, guys, I have little to no excuse. No, actually I do, and they're called Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us. Both Great games with great stories that inspired me to want to father a daughter when the right time to have a child arrives. Oh yeah, and both have some mindfucking twists and endigs that I really didn't see coming, and both with DLCs that I'm salivatingto get my hands on, but I digress. _

_Sorry for the late update. My memories on Mako's story are a bit fuzzy, and I really didn't feel like searching around for such a small detail, so I don't know if Todd still has a crush on Hit-Girl or not, so made him have mixed feelings about that crush. It's not going to b that plot relevant at all, but i just wanted to let this out of the way._

_So in this chapter Jason meets Marty and Todd for the first time, and I think that they'd get along real well. This and the next two chapters won't have any action, so bear with me. I want to set Jason's relationship with members of the existing cast before everything as well as setting the build-up to his debut. I hope I got Marty and Todd's characterisation right. If not then send me some tips on what I did wrong and how I should tackle some of the other characters that will most certainly apear._

_This is my first fic after all._

_Now, without further ado, enjoy the story._

* * *

Yeah, it looks like my brother has been living the life. The apartment is a duplex, small kitchen, living room and a guest room, which will be my room, in the first floor, and the entire second floor was my brother's room. Each of us had a bathroom adjacent to our respective rooms, so there won't be the future problem of having to share a bathroom.

In terms of square feet, neither floors are that big, but since my room occupies about a third of the first floor, it's quite comfortable to be in. Unpacking is going to be a bitch, though.

I walked up the stairs to see what my brother was up to, and to give his room a visit for the first time. The sheer quantity of computer screens that littered his big semi-circular desk was quite impressive, but more impressive was the easiness with which he changed from one screen to another, and then back to the first one. He seemed to have a different program running in each one of the screens, and he seemed to keep track of all of them with no slips.

The rest of his room was simple enough. A queen sized bed to the left of the room, a couple of shelves filled either with comic book hero figurines or electronic devices lay above it and a nightstand with an alarm clock beside the bed.

To the right side of his room was the door to his bathroom, and a wardrobe, probably partially filled with clothes, with the other part filled with junk he collects, and box or two of comic books, at the least. It's hard to believe that the man that introduced me to the world of comic books has stopped buying them, especially when he lives right in front of a place called Atomic Comics.

I'm almost sure I'm gonna visit that place daily.

So I enter the room and he has his back turned to me, completely focused on what he was doing. I, like the great brother that I am, did what came naturally to me. I sneaked up on him to scare him.

"So" I basically yelled right next to his ear, making him jump "We've just come back and you're already back to work. What are you up to?"

In response he spun in his chair and threw out a right hook, which I narrowly dodged before jumping away to a safer distance. His eyes narrowed on me and he looked unamused, probably because of the huge grin plastered on my face. Messing with him has always been one of my favorite things to do, as well as his least favorite thing about me.

"Firstly, a simple fuck you!" he started "Secondly, I was working on a program that squares down accounts of possible pedophiles at dating sites, chat rooms and forums." He crossed his arms and glared at me for my apparent ungratefulness.

"How does that work?" I asked, his bitterness ignored as he had my curiosity instigated.

Tom sighed in defeat "Well, the concept is easy. The program does a general sweeping through all the accounts of the site it's currently working on. If it finds anything I have programmed as 'suspicious', being that an account with little to no information of its user on it, or accounts that contain certain keywords on its contents. The keywords are many, and if even one of them is found, it will start the next step of the program"

"And that is?" I instigated him to continue

"Complete background check" he replied with a smirk "Every chat, conversation, message or post that the account might have had, sent or made will be checked. If the program finds anything I've defined as suspicious, it will send the past conversation in which it has found the evidence to me, and give me the name of the account"

"And then what happens next?"

"After that we do it like the police. Either you or me pretend to be a 12-15 year old girl and talk to the bastard" he explained

"And with we find any evidence that he is, indeed, a pedophile…" I caught on

"Then we either track down his IP address, or set up a meeting with him."

"Either way the little bitch is in our hands" I said approvingly "Nice."

"Thanks, but don't get too excited yet. The idea is simple, but actually programing this is a total bitch. It's gonna take some time to get it done"

"How much time do you think it's going to take?"

"Being realistic? It won't be done until Christmas. When you're done with your uniform, you'll have to content yourself with simply doing some patrols around town"

I shrugged "Beggars can't be choosers. By the way" I changed the subject, my voice turning slightly irritated "What's up with those fake abs and pectorals on my bullet-proof vest?"

"Oh, that? I just thought it's good to have an intimidation bonus. Did you like it?" he replied with a snicker

"Just fuck you, man"

"Nah, I'm just kidding. Though false muscle does intimidate, those are made of hard ceramic plates. They'll help you out a bit"

I thought about it for a minute "Makes sense. Doesn't stop me from hating you, though"

"Yeah, I didn't think it would" he waved it off "Now go do something somewhere else, I'm a bit busy at the moment" he said pointing at the computer

"Fine, I'll go check out that Atomic Comics shop here in front. See you later"

After picking up my new keys and some money, I left the apartment. The walk there was literally just crossing the street. Location, location, location, Tom did a great fucking job finding an apartment around here.

The store has a feeling of being a pure nerdtopia. The place is huge, and every single shelf was filled with the hopes and dreams of every comic book fan in existence. There is a special counter for the more vintage and expensive figurines and comics as well as a snack bar with a couple of tables nearby it.

The place is pretty deserted though. The only other people around are the clerks and two dudes with laptops sitting on a table near the snack bar and talking to each other about, yep you guessed it, comics. I know, shocking.

Anyway, since they were the only ones in the place, it was easy to hear what they were saying to each other, and I happen to overhear something.

"Hey, Marty, did you hear?" One guy said to the other guy with glasses, apparently Marty "There's a guy from our school that has a first edition of Green Arrow and the Longbow Hunters, and he's selling it for the smooth price of 300 dollars."

"300?" Marty asked a bit skeptically "Man, that thing costs more than 10 times that price. This rumor is probably BS"

"It's not a rumor though. The guy himself was announcing this to anyone that is known to be an appreciator of the fine comics."

"So he made a post about it in the super hero forums?" Marty scoffed

"Yeah, pretty much. But it seems legit. He posted a picture and everything, and it's in mint condition. I'm pretty sure the guy is from our school, I think his name is Jack or something. He must be either really broke, or sustaining a drug habit to be selling this so cheap"

"My money is on the drug habit. Um, can I help you with something?"

The sudden question snapped me back to reality. It seems that at the mention of a first edition of a Green Arrow comic for that price made me unconsciously start moving towards their table, and now I was basically at striking range of these two. Fuck, how did I get so close without noticing? Damn you Green Arrow and your allurement. Ok, you just have to play it smooth.

"Did you just say that there's a guy selling a first edition of Green Arrow and the Longbow Hunters for only 300 dollars?" I practically yelled at the two. Nailed it.

They just stared at me with a confused and a bit freaked out look on their faces. I guess they couldn't handle how smooth I was just then.

I cleared my throat and decided to start again "Sorry about that. The place is really empty so I couldn't help but overhear what you guys just said. I'm a big Green Arrow fan, so I got a bit too excited. So, is this thing for real?"

The guy that had started the conversation answered for me "Absolutely. There's about a ninety percent chance that this is totally legit, I guarantee" he told me confidently

"Todd, the guy who's selling this is a possible drug addict trying to make some fast money. This is anything _but_ legit" the guy named Marty shot him down

"The pics don't lie, Marty. The pics don't lie." Todd turned his laptop screen towards us with the web page with some amateur pictures of the comic encased in a layer of plastic, as well as some pics with the seller holding the thing to prove that it was, indeed, legit and that he didn't take them from some random place on the internet.

"Ok, this time you got me" Marty let part of his skepticism die "But it still seems fishy to me"

"Don't be such a party pooper, Marty" Todd complained

"Yeah, don't be such a tightass, Marty" I agreed with him

My sudden comment made them turn their attention back to me. We eyed each other for a second and all three of us started to laugh. It seems I managed to leave a nice first impression on them, which is good since they seem to be regulars here, and we're going to be seeing each other around here quite a lot.

"So, what's your name man?" Marty asked me "I don't think I've ever seen you around here before"

"My name's Jason. I just moved in to the city to live with my brother. He lives just across the street" I jerked my thumb backwards to point at the place

"So I guess we'll be seeing you around quite a lot, huh?" Marty asked a bit amused

"If you were counting on never seeing me again, then I'm not sorry to disappoint you"

They both chuckled "Nah, it's cool. Glad to be part of your welcoming committee. I'm Marty and this here is Todd" He introduced them both and Todd gave a little wave"

"It's good to meet you both" I said out of courtesy "Now back to the comic book… you said you go to the same school as the guy that's selling it, right?"

Marty, Todd and I ended up getting along pretty well even though they seemed to be a couple of years older. After Todd promised me to look into the comic at sale, I tried to convince them to give it to me as a conjoined Christmas present to me. I said that jokingly, of course, but they ended up agreeing with that under the condition that I'd give them something of equal value in return. If I didn't, they'd just resell the comic for a higher price then they bought it and split the money between them, so it was a win-win for them and a win-win for me, since I did intend to honor the deal.

After that we ended up talking about our interests: video games, my archery, comic books, fictional heroes, and of course, real life heroes. I must admit I was bit surprised when Marty told me that Todd had a crush on Hit-Girl

"Dude she's, like, twelve or something" I said with a clear WTF in my voice.

"Not you too, man! Look I think I got over it, ok? Besides, it's not like I couldn't wait for her to grow up, or something? Just fuck off, ok?"

"Ok, ok, I get it, touchy subject. Marty you jerk!" I jokingly shook an anger fist at Marty who simply shrugged and sighed.

After that it was my turn to get pulled into a touchy subject. At least it was touchy for me

"Hey Jason, you said you practiced archery, right?" Marty asked me

I nodded.

"So, who do you think is the best, Green Arrow or Hawkeye?"

Since I made such a big fuss over the Green Arrow comic, I think he expected me to choose him without hesitation. But the fact is, even with a gun pointed to my head, I would be unable to choose between the both of them. I received my first Hawkeye comic and my first Green Arrow one practically simultaneously, and they made me fall in love with archery.

They've accompanied me side by side since the begining, with none of them holding the advantage in my hero-loving heart. This question is so taboo for me that I think I might have started to visibly shake

And Marty noticed that.

"Hey man, if you're having such a difficulty choosing, then you don't need to, ok?"

I must've looked so pathetically thankful that the two of them couldn't help but laugh. I was ok with that, though. I know this is a stupid dilemma, but it's a big thing for me.

After that Marty and Todd said they needed to go, so said goodbye to them and reminded them of our deal. Being the honored person I am, I went to the cashier and bought two 150 dollar gift cards, one for each of them as soon as they left.

It's kind of strange buying Christmas presents to a couple of guys that I just met, but I had a feeling that we were going to be great friends.

I pocketed the cards and left the store. Time to get working on my uniform.

The Grey Hound needs to be ready by Christmas.


	3. Chapter 3

_If_ you_ guys wanted to maul me for delivering only this after all the time I made you wait, I definitely wouldn't blame you.  
I literally have no excuse, except maybe school and the fact that I completely rewrote this same scene about 20 times and I still think it's not that good. I thought about prolonging it but then decided against it in favor of making that another chapter, so at least next chapter will come along quickly... or at least I hope so._

The drawing used as cover for this story is the original concept for the Grey Hound's costume that a friend drew for me. But after some thinking I thought that it looked too profesional looking to be something a 14 year old managed to bring up together,_ so I changed it a bit. My friend didn't want to make another drawing, so I'll just tell you to imagine a similar armor, but more crude looking. The pieces of armor having some space in-between them, making it not look so homogeneous_. _Also, his leg armor will be reduced and he'll be wearing jeans over it all, as explained in this chapter._

_Sorry for the long explanation, I just thought it was time to make it since it fit with the chapter_

* * *

"Bro, what the fuck is this?"

"Uh…"

"Answer me clearly, Tom. What the fuck is this?" I ask again

"A… a piece of your armor?" he sweats nervously, trying to back away, but he's trapped. There is no place he can run to now.

"And _what_ part of the armor is this?" My voice grows colder and more menacing and I can hear him whimpering a bit. Perfect.

"T-the one that protects your crotch from harm?" he tries again. I lose my patience

I was wearing my full costume that I managed to put together in the last 3 days. A set of grey form fitting spandex long-sleeved shirt and leggings, and pieces of Kevlar strapped over them with the purpose of making a complete armor. It looked pretty badass, except for one detail.

"It's a _codpiece, _dammit, a _motherfucking __**codpiece**_!" I threw the offending piece of of my uniform at him "A bulgy, one tone darker than the rest of my costume, _motherfucking_, codpiece! Do you know how fucking ridiculous this looks?"

"Come on, Jace, you're being dramatic. It's a necessary protective piece of your costume!" he tried to reason with me, but I was having none of that

"Then why, for the love of god, _why _is it bulgy and darker than the other pieces? It makes me look like I'm wearing my underwear over my pants! You want me to believe you didn't do it on purpose?"

At that my brother chuckled nervously "Well, you said you wanted to be a super hero. That's the most classical super hero look in the book"

At that I simply stared him down and I could see that he was controlling himself not to laugh at me. "Forget what I said about you being the best brother ever. You're a fucking asshole" I went and picked up the codpiece beside him "You know what, screw this I'll just fucking wear a pair of jeans over my uniform" I turned around and pointed at him "And you're fucking lucky I came up with this solution" And after that I walked away.

I knew that fucker accepted my requests to by Kevlar too easily. I think this is his way of getting back at me after all those years of pranking him. I must admit, that, along with the fake abs, was a pretty good comeback. But it's not because I understand him that I'm not getting mad, oh no sir.

The thing about pranking is that it's a vicious cycle. His revenge will have retribution.


	4. Chapter 4

_Remember when I said this update would come faster than the last one? Well, I lied. I'm sorry, but that's just how the real world works._

_Besides, between having to move from Brazil to Louisiana in early September as part of an exchange program, having to get used to my new school and my school works, playing Dragon's Age, Fallout 3 and GTA 5 ,and getting suspended from school for a crime I didn't commit, I've been very busy, so I have a valid excuse._

_Now for the chapter, it's a hell of a lot longer then that last one, so there's that. It also shows Jason's first interaction with one of my favourite characters from the PC-verse. I hope I got their characterisation right. Mako, when you read this, please tell me how I did._

_Also, I think I may need a beta-reader. Anyone up for the task?_

_And please, __**Please!**__ don't forget to __**review**__. I need those to improve my writing and to know how well I'm doing and how to make the story better._

_Action-oriented chapter next time, as well as the first time I'll be using Mindy's POV._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Holy fuck today has been cold as hell!

Actually if I revise that sentence, it doesn't really make sense. Hell is supposed to be kind of an extremely hot place so saying that it's cold as hell would probably mean that it's not cold at all.

Which is the opposite of what today is. Which is cold. Cold is what defines today…

Wait what was I about to say?

Oh yeah, today is really fucking cold! Just wanted to get this point across.

And it was in this cold winter day that I had to walk all around the city on foot to find the place where I'd placed the order for the custom made grey cloak that I intended to use for my costume.

The costume shop was quite away from my place, and quite distant from the subway lines too, so since I hate spending money with cabs, I had to go on foot.

What left me in a bad mood was that Tom could have totally given me a ride but didn't because 'the cold made him lazy'. I was going to go easy on him with my retribution prank, but now he was going to pay.

And then when I arrive in the damn place they tell me that my order would only be done in about 2 more hours, and that I had to wait there.

I am a patient person, but did I mention they had no heating system inside the shop? Might as well been waiting in the middle of a snowstorm.

So after two hours of hearing my own teeth clatter, I picked up the cloak I had ordered for, plus a pair of wolf ears. Not the fluffy kind, mind you, I had asked the shop if they had anything made of metal and for my luck they had. It was nothing great, just a headband with metal triangle ears, but after sharpening the sides and attaching them to the hood, it would be looking just the way I'd intended it to look like.

The walk back was just brutal and I cursed my brother every step of the way.

In the middle of the way I decided to put on the cloak to see if it'd help a bit.

Surprisingly it helped way more than I'd expected. The cloak's fabric was thick and it blocked the wind surprisingly well. After that the journey back home didn't sound so grim.

Since I was having such a shit day, I decided to reward myself by going to Atomic Comics to buy the newest issue of Hit Girl.

What can I say, I'm a big fan. Anyone who aspires to be a hero should look up to her; she simply is the best there is to be. Ruthless, efficient, wise-cracking and dark, it's hard not to like her. She's kind of like a mixture of Deadpool and Batman. Except she's way younger than them. How the fuck does a twelve year-old learn how to fight like that?

Of course, the actual wannabe Batman here is the Guardian. I guess he's ok since he's doing good and all, but he's way too stuck up about all this 'no killing' thing. Besides, some of these bastards deserve a slow, bloody, and deliciously painful death. But despite that I can see why people also look up to him

And then there is Kick-Ass, the first hero of them all. If there is something that makes him someone worthy of being someone's idol, it's his bravery. The fact that he had the balls to start something dangerous like that and keep going even after being hunted then tortured in live TV makes him someone worthy of respect. Lesser men would have quit after escaping that one.

Sure he started pathetically, but don't we all start at some point? Plus he survived despite the adversities and kept improving as a hero and a fighter every day until he became what he is.

Kick-Ass is a bad ass motherfucker.

Not as much as Hit-Girl though, which is the reason I am buying her comic today and not his. Sorry, Kick-ass.

As I enter the store, the first thing I do is to look for Marty and Todd. We've been talking and hanging out together at the store almost every day ever since the day I met them.

They managed to get the comic from the guy, who looked like a complete stoner according to them, and said that they're going to hand it to me on Christmas day.

It was ok with me, I mean, that's what Christmas is for right? I'll give their presents that day too.

I also decided to throw in a repeated comic from my special collection for each in the bundle along with the gift cards. They seem like really nice dudes, and since I got to know them better, I got to know their tastes.

For Marty I'm gonna give one of my silver-age Capitan America comics, and for Todd, he's getting Batman: A Death in The Family. It's mostly because he seems to like Batman, but it's also because it's the edition where Jason Todd dies. Not that I want Todd to die, I just wanted to give him some type of nominal tribute in his present. Plus, it's a great comic.

Anyway, as I escaped the cold inside the shop, I expected to be greeted yet again by those two lovable nerds.

I found myself greeted by silence.

I guess that the weather kept them from coming today, which is understandable. If my apartment wasn't just across the street from it, I wouldn't come either.

I sighed in both disappointment and relief. The heat was a welcome thing, and made me feel comfortable.

I walked over to the snack bar and bought myself a hot chocolate to help me warm up and then proceeded to go find the Hit-Girl session of the store when I spotted something unusual standing there, browsing the shelf. A girl.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those sexist types that think that it's impossible for girls to like comic books and stuff like that, nor am I one of those equally sexist guys who think they are goddesses that bless the world with their rare presence. But still, I don't think I've ever seen a girl in this store before.

I'm not complaining though. It was a nice change of scenery, especially since this particular girl was rather cute looking. She looked to be my age, give or take a year.

She had long, dark, flowing hair that she styled in a way that made her bangs cover one of her eyes. Add this to her fidgety mannerisms, and reserved body language and you could paint out the perfect picture of a shy, innocent girl. In a way, that made her even cuter.

Second thing I noticed, which would've been the first thing if I wasn't a gentleman, was her rather… voluptuous figure. Her D cup breasts were hugged by a black sweater that despite looking a bit tight on the chest, still managed to seem comfortable. She was also wearing purple snow pants and holding a matching coat on her left arm.

Third thing I noticed, almost like an afterthought, was that she had some slight middle-eastern features, such as hazel, roundish-almond eyes and a slightly darker skin tone. I'd risk saying she's probably one-eighth middle eastern or something.

To anyone possibly reading my mind right now, no I am not a creepy dude. I just notice things about people, I swear. It's almost unconscious.

After my initial surprise, and eventual admiration of her features, I went on with I was there to do in the first place.

I walk down the aisle and stop a couple of feet from the girl and begin browsing the "Real Life Heroes" shelves.

I skimmed over the Biker Knight and Kick-Ass comics, walking a bit to the side while doing so, before I landed on the Hit Girl section I was looking for.

There were a bunch of comics in display from ascending order of release, with a couple of issues missing. There were even about three hardcover compilations of Hit-Girl comics that covered about every single comic in that section, with the exception of the five newest issues.

When I got closer, I noticed the girl got a little bit fidgety.

That caused me to smirk inwardly. That cute reaction made me hatch a harmless but devious plan.

I continued to browse for a while until I noticed the movement of her hand reaching out for a comic. At the same moment, but slightly faster I went for the same comic she was aiming for; making her hands lay on top of mine.

After a moment she retrieved her hand with a small squeak, and I smiled at the expected reaction.

After picking the book she had reached for I noticed that, coincidently, it was the newest issue of Hit-Girl that I was looking for.

I gave her a pleasant smile and offered the comic to her "Here you go"

She hesitated for a second before grabbing the book and mumbling a small thanks, and then I grabbed a copy for myself.

We stood in awkward silence for a while until I finally decided to break it.

"So… you're a Hit-Girl fan too, huh?" I asked

She looked at me with some uncertainty, as if not sure if I was talking to her. Then she seemed to snap out of it and replied softly

"Yeah, I think she's pretty awesome"

"I noticed that" I chuckled, gesturing to her black and purple clothes. "I guess it's expected for her to have such an impact on girls your age"

She hugged herself embarrassedly, as if trying to hide the color scheme of her clothes before she frowned and gave me a measured glare.

"Hold on" she stopped hugging herself "you're saying 'girls your age' but you don't look any older than me."

"Oops, caught red-handed" I kept smiling "I was just joking around. Ya know, breaking the ice. You looked kinda nervous. Or maybe…" I changed my tone to a conspiratorial one "Maybe I _am_ older than you. Maybe I drank a potion around four-hundred years ago that makes me look as you as the day I gulped it down"

"Or _maybe…_" I continued "Maybe I'm an illusion. The real me is a century old mage, with a big white beard and everything who likes to read comic books and transforms into a young looking lad to fit into the demographic, and not raise suspicion"

"Or maybe I don't even exist. Maybe I'm just a figment of your imagination, created to make you feel more comfortable in a male-dominated environment which is usually filled with creepy dudes with B.O. that usually stare at, and/or creep on any attractive individual of the female sex that they see inside their lair"

She stared at me for a couple of seconds before giggling.

"You're such a weirdo" she told me. When she saw me pouting she quickly added "In a good way! Also…" she continued "What you said is true. I really was nervous being here alone"

"So I take it that you don't usually come to this place?"

"No, I actually come quite often. But usually I come with my friends" she fiddled with the hem of her coat "I don't actually come here alone" she admitted "But it's been a while since I last came, and today is when the new Hit-Girl comes out, so…"

"So you came alone on a shit day like today, even though you're not comfortable being here alone" I reasoned "Wow. That takes some dedication. I'd even risk saying you might have a crush on her"

She sputtered and started to blush madly while still fiddling with the hem of her coat. Bingo. Looks like I was spot on.

"I was right wasn't I?" the smirk was noticeable in my voice

"No!" she denied in an outrageously cute way "I just really admire her, ok? Besides, I have a boyfriend"

"You do? Welp, there goes my plan. Goodbye, I won't ever talk to you again." I joked as I pretended that I was going to turn around and walk away.

Then I halted. Her face fell as soon as I started to turn around, and it looked so sad that it stopped me on my tracks and made me feel bad even about _thinking_ this was a good idea for a joke.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" I waved my hands around desperately trying not to make it worse "It was a joke, I'm sorry! Don't look so sad, I didn't want to make you sad! You're like a pretty cool person to chat with! I wouldn't stop talking to you just because you're taken, I swear."

She lifted her chin a bit surprised and looked at me for a few moments before smiling a bit

"You really are a weird guy" she commented again

"Well this weird guy has a equally weird name" I retorted and extended my hand "I'm Jason Lunovich"

She hesitated a bit before clasping her own hand around mine "I'm Jessi. Nice to meet you, weird guy." I frowned at that, but she just laughed.

"Nice to meet you too" I politely replied

After that Jessi and I chatted for a little while. I told her I was new to the city and that I live right in front of the store and that I have the chance to come every day. She thought that was pretty cool and suggested for me to hang out with her and her friends some time. After that we paid for our comics and waited for the storm to calm down.

Then we said our goodbyes as I crossed the road and she walked down the street.

Jessi seemed like a really cool girl despite her initial shyness. It seems that she's relatively new to the nerd-tastic world of comics, having been introduced by one of her close friends about a year or so ago.

She also seems to have some issues regarding physical contact, but I can respect that. There are a lot of people that don't like being touched. Might also be a sign of something terrible, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

Another thing that struck me was how devastated she looked when I made that rather ill-tasted joke that implied I was just trying to get into her pants. That sounds like a recurring issue for me and that she might have problems regarding boys and her self esteem

Now that I think about it she really reminds me about Jenny, specially her mannerisms and such. Is she being…? No, I have to stop thinking like that all the time, especially if I don't have any solid clues. A lot of people don't like being touched and nothing bad happened in their childhood.

…Maybe I should simply observe a bit more next time I meet her

Anyway, after I got home the day went on without any major happenings

I connected the wolf ears to the hood of my cloak and tried on the entire outfit for the first time. The cloak didn't limit my mobility in any way that was fatal, and with that I knew I was ready.

That's good, because Christmas is just around the corner.


End file.
